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Two years ago I leased a place for one year. I stayed for nine…

Customer Question

Two years ago I leased...

Two years ago I leased a place for one year. I stayed for nine months after the lease. There was a security deposit of $2,500.00 I could not give a formal 30 day? The owner was very private and only had a phone number to contact him. When I gave notice it was when he came around for payment. I told him to keep the deposit and that I would be out on the third of that month. I did leave, I left the place very clean. Seven months prior to leaving I asked him if we could paint the unit? He stated treat it like your home, That it was OK. We did and did a real nice job. When we moved out he complained that he could not rent the unit because of the color and now we were responsible for the cost? He now is using a lawyer to state that I was not at a month to month after the year and that I now owe him for days that I was their past the first plus what he considers I owe him due to the one year lease (telling me that the contract was still in effect past one year?) All repairs were not to cover with additional rent, He wants an additional $1,200.00. My question is should I get a lawyer and fight this? Or am I obligated to pay what he thinks I owe him.

Hi and Welcome to Just Answer. I will be the expert that will be helping you today. I look forward to helping you solve your problem.

Once the lease expired, you would be considered a month to month tenant, absent a clause in the original lease agreement which caused for an automatic renewal of the lease, for another year. Re-read the original lease you signed and see what it says. If it is silent, then you would have had to provide him with 60 days written notice of your intent to vacate, since you had been there over a year. Your failure to give the timely notice, could result in his ability to collect the rent, for those 2 months, assuming he made a good faith effort to try and find a new tenant. As far as the issue goes with the paint, you would need to return it to the original color and if not, the landlord could deduct for the cost to repaint it. You have every legal right to fight this if you do not think the landlord is right and should consider retaining an attorney if you are going to fight this, so your interest is protected. Moreover, if he is proceeding in bad faith, the Judge may award you attorney fees as well as any other damages you suffered.

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DISCLAIMER: Answers from Experts on JustAnswer are not substitutes for the advice of an attorney. JustAnswer is a public forum and questions and responses are not private or confidential or protected by the attorney-client privilege. The Expert above is not your attorney, and the response above is not legal advice. You should not read this response to propose specific action or address specific circumstances, but only to give you a sense of general principles of law that might affect the situation you describe. Application of these general principles to particular circumstances must be done by a lawyer who has spoken with you in confidence, learned all relevant information, and explored various options. Before acting on these general principles, you should hire a lawyer licensed to practice law in the jurisdiction to which your question pertains.

The responses above are from individual Experts, not JustAnswer. The site and services are provided “as is”. To view the verified credential of an Expert, click on the “Verified” symbol in the Expert’s profile. This site is not for emergency questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals. Please carefully read the Terms of Service (last updated February 8, 2012).

DISCLAIMER: Answers from Experts on JustAnswer are not substitutes for the advice of an attorney. JustAnswer is a public forum and questions and responses are not private or confidential or protected by the attorney-client privilege. The Expert above is not your attorney, and the response above is not legal advice. You should not read this response to propose specific action or address specific circumstances, but only to give you a sense of general principles of law that might affect the situation you describe. Application of these general principles to particular circumstances must be done by a lawyer who has spoken with you in confidence, learned all relevant information, and explored various options. Before acting on these general principles, you should hire a lawyer licensed to practice law in the jurisdiction to which your question pertains.

The responses above are from individual Experts, not JustAnswer. The site and services are provided “as is”. To view the verified credential of an Expert, click on the “Verified” symbol in the Expert’s profile. This site is not for emergency questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals. Please carefully read the Terms of Service (last updated February 8, 2012).